Newcastle United are set to finally answer the £50million question next week.

Well, maybe not quite £50million. While the club do not dispute the fact that a “healthy profit” will be posted when they take the wraps off their accounts before the end of the month, it would be quite extraordinary if they posted something in the region of £50m for a season when they were supposed to be re-stocking the squad to avoid the kind of collapse that turned the campaign to mush last year.

On Thursday, the accounting firm Deloitte put out a report that claimed the Premier League, collectively, had posted a combined pre-tax profit of £190million – the first time that had happened in 15 years. The exact amount that United have contributed to that figure – and remember Sunderland posted a pre-tax loss of £17million – is not yet known but if it’s less than £25million that would be a surprise given other Premier League clubs have seen their turnover mushroom off the back of the massively improved TV deal.

Liverpool turned a £49.8million loss in 2012/13 into a £0.9million profit – that’s before the £70million sale of Luis Suarez – while Swansea posted a £1.7million profit, despite investing £33.4million in new players. All Newcastle had to do was avoid catastrophe to post a profit and even if it has sometimes felt pretty turgid in the last 12 months, the club have not come close to relegation since they returned to the Premier League.

United are a solid business who apply the keenest eye to costs. You probably won’t see it mentioned in the accounts but the fact United yanked complimentary tickets from the playing and coaching staff this year – and food from the press room – is an indication that Newcastle aren’t in the business of frittering money these days.

They won’t spend on players they don’t believe are worth it, have written off the January transfer window and aren’t going to sign anyone over 27. Re-sale value remains key.

What the accounts won’t show is the money lost by some of the more controversial decisions they make. Nobody strolling down Barrack Road on Saturday will have been overly pre-occupied by commercial revenue but the more savvy supporter sites and social media accounts have noted that Newcastle’s has gone down in recent years by some 30%.

While other clubs are boosting theirs – Manchester City by more than 500%, although that’s hardly a fair comparison given what has happened at Eastlands recently – that figure stands out like a sore thumb. But then again, when Sports Direct is basically an unpaying commercial partner is that really such a surprise?

United work primarily with people and businesses they know – the services of PR firm Keith Bishop Associates, who are a perennial partner of Ashley’s businesses, are consistently retained – and we have to wonder whether that will be reflected in these new accounts.

What is certain to be illustrated is that Ashley has got Newcastle in the kind of position that he was absolutely determined to when the club returned to the Premier League.

Back then they released a statement claiming there would be no more capital outlay on players and since then, Ashley hasn’t had to put any more into the club to cover recruitment.

It’s not a bad situation for the owner, is it? United turning a profit, funding itself and relatively stable in the Premier League. And yet, on the ground there is discontent because the faith, the love and the expectation has been evaporating for the best part of two seasons.

The indication is that Newcastle know that, to be fair, and this is an asbolutely huge summer. Even Ashley’s biggest critics would have to accept that there is some logic to what he has done at St James’ Park – but it is all the other questions that float around that are so troubling. This week Jonas Gutierrez has muddied the waters by claiming he will not forgive the club for their approach to his illness. United haven’t responded but probably know it doesn’t look great, even if some would insist it was more complicated than that.

There are also questions about what happened in February with Rangers. Shane Ferguson hasn’t gone to Glasgow yet and Gael Bigirimana won’t play either, yet the Ibrox outfit are lumbered with a bill for the quintet. Who exactly did that deal benefit, other than Ashley? Certainly not Rangers and not really Newcastle either.

It’s worth reproducing Dan Jones’ quote, that went with the Deloitte report. Jones is a partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

“The primary aim of a football club is, and always should be, on-pitch success for the fans,” he reasoned.

“However, we do welcome these results, which show that the Premier League clubs are starting to convert their impressive revenue growth into a more sustainable net result. With the recent announcement of another record Premier League broadcast deal, the revenue increases show no sign of ending and should make this season’s profit a regular outcome.

“Such profits provide the clubs with a great opportunity to invest further in their facilities and youth development activities, but will also no doubt make Premier League clubs even more attractive to potential investors than they already were. They can now be reasonably profitable businesses as well as trophy assets.”

United look well placed in this revolution but there is something missing. The atmosphere returned in the second half on Saturday and it jolted most observers out of their slumber.

Moral victories won’t count for much it was a glimpse of something that has been absent for far too long. Whatever the accounts show, profits will hardly silence the prophets of doom who believe the club has regressed recently.

The club’s work is cut out for it this summer. The accounts will offer them no excuses for not changing tack.